Genesis 7:1
And the Lord said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.
For further study – Genesis 7:1-24
I realize that the record of the beginning of the worldwide “flood”, the extent of the flood and the devastation that followed this deluge is somewhat difficult to believe if you do not know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
The account of this judgment on all of mankind 4,500 years ago is hard for the non-believer to accept as truth because of the severity of God’s punishment on the descendants of Adam and Eve who did that which was evil in the sight of God.
However, this account of God’s judgment, though hard to accept as truth, is confirmed by Jesus Himself, Matthew 24:37-39. “As it was in the days of Noah”, has a broad definition that is revealed in Genesis 4-5, the “days before the flood; Genesis 6-8, the “days during the flood” and the “days after the flood”, Genesis 9-11, since Noah lived 350 years after the flood.
The reason I bring this information to your attention is that the Apostle Peter wrote many years ago that in the “last days” there would be those that would be “willfully ignorant” of the fact that there ever was a worldwide flood, I Peter 3:5.
Please notice with me the number of details of the “flood” and the events during that time that help us to understand how this all played out in Noah’s day. This man Noah was a “righteous man” one that the Lord recognized as a standout in his generation, verse 1.
God had a plan to re-populate the Earth after the flood and it depended on Noah’s obedience to keep alive upon the Earth four “husband and wife teams”, Noah, his three sons and their four wives, verse 7.
The Lord wanted the animal world to survive this deluge as well and He directed Noah how to bring the animals into the protective custody of this “man of God”, in the Ark with the eight members of Noah’s family, verses 2-3 and 7-9.
Notice also the “flood waters” covered the highest mountain peaks around the world by at least 20 feet, verses 18-20. This is major evidence that this was indeed a worldwide flood. It was a judgment that took the lives of about one billion people that perished in the flood.
Some other very interesting facts in this chapter selected today for our devotional reading would include the age of Noah at the time of the flood, 600 years old, verse 6; for the first time in the history of the world it “rained” something that had never happened before, verses 4 and 12 and Noah, the righteous man God used during this period of history 4,500 years ago, did all that the Lord command him to do in his generation.
This record of Noah’s life and family and the “big flood” is a reminder that the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back to this Earth one day to set up His Kingdom in the city of Jerusalem. Jesus said that time would be recognized by the features that were prevalent in the “days of Noah”, Matthew 24:37.
Just a reminder that those who know Jesus Christ as Savior will depart this Earth for the heavens at the Rapture of the Church at least seven years before Jesus returns to Jerusalem. That Rapture could happen even today, keep looking up.
PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord for the true record of the worldwide flood and the reality of your judgment for sin. Please help me to do according to all that you command me as I await your call for me to join you in heaven.